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The interactive dog atlas · Skeleton · Forelimb

Front digits (toes) digiti manus

The toes of the front leg are at the end of the paw, with the pads and claws. Four of them touch the ground, each with three small bones, a pad and a claw.

Open in the interactive atlas Guide: Skeleton Worksheet

Educational material, not a diagnostic tool. Written by the Mantrailing România team from veterinary sources we read. Updated 14.11.2026.

Dog in left lateral view — exterior, muscles, skeleton and organs Vector study after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates: a standing dog, head to the left, deep chest and digitigrade limbs. The four layers use the same contour: exterior with body regions, superficial muscles, skeleton and organs.
  1. Front digits (toes)
  2. Metacarpus
Front digits (toes) on the atlas drawing, "Skeleton" layer, with the neighbouring structures. Left lateral view, after the Ellenberger, Baum and Dittrich plates.

Where it is

The end of the forepaw, with the pads and claws.

System
Forelimb
Region
Forelimb

What it is and what it does

The digits are numbered I to V, from the inside outward. Digits II-V touch the ground, each with three phalanges, a pad and a claw. Digit I, the dewclaw, is slender, sits higher on the inner side of the paw and takes no part in support; in some puppies it is removed at birth.

Worth remembering

The dewclaw, the toe on the inner side, sits higher and does not touch the ground; in some puppies it is removed at birth.

Names

  • Also called: front phalanges.
  • Latin term: digiti manus.
  • In Romanian: Degetele anterioare (Romanian page).

In the atlas lessons

The dog's paw, from below (3 min):

The claw is a horny sheath over the ungual process of the last phalanx. The pads contain eccrine sweat glands, with at most a minor role in cooling: the dog cools itself by panting.

From the same region: Forelimb

All structures, in the atlas · Flashcards: skeleton